Warning signal and control for road vehicles



. 24, 1935. J. HIRSHFELD WARNING SIGNAL AND CONTROL FOR ROAD VEHICLES Filed June 8, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l |||III| llllllll I; II/

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INVENTOR first!!! b TTORNEY Dec. 24, 1935.

J. HIRSHFELD 2,025,106 WARNING SIGNAL AND CONTROL FOR ROAD VEHICLES Filed June 8, 1932 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNE? vision of Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WARNING SIGNAL AND CQNTROL FOR ROAD VEHICLES 3 Claims.

My present invention relates on the one hand to an arrangement for apprising the driver of a road vehicle, or the like, of the fact that he is approaching a danger zone, and coordinately relates either by way of addition, or, as an alternative, to an arrangement whereby the vehicle itself can be automatically controlled if it continues to approach the point of danger.

For purposes of convenience of illustration and as disclosing one of the many applications of my invention, I have illustrated my invention in connection with a railroad crossing and in the application thereof (a) the automatic operation and control is by the presence of a train in the vicinity of a grade crossing; (b) the apprisal to the driver of that fact is by means in the road vehicle, controlled by an arrangement rendered operative by the presence of such a train, and (c) the control of the vehicle is by means similar to those given in (b), except that its operation is directly upon the vehicle, controlling one or more of the operating parts thereof.

More specifically, the embodiment herein disclosed shows an arrangement at the railroad crossing whereby energy either created or controlled by the movement of the train as it approaches or leaves the crossing, is received by an apparatus in the vehicle to control or operate a signal receivable or perceptible by the vehicle driver and/or an arrangement to control one or more of the operating parts of the vehicle.

The general object of my invention is the proan arrangement whereby either the driver of a road vehicle may be apprised of danger ahead, or whereby the vehicle may be automatically controlled in the event of such danger, or whereby, in the event that the driver, being informed of the presence of such danger, ignores its import and fails to act, the automatic control or" the vehicle goes into efiect.

For the attainment of these objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have illustrated one embodiment of the invention in the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a railroad crossing with a radio signaling system in conjunction therewith, and further shows two approaching motor cars each carrying a receiving system to be operated by the signaling system;

Figure 2 shows in detail such a receiving system together with the parts of a motor car or other road vehicle, controlled by it, according to my invention;

Figure 3 shows a detail of the brake-operating mechanism, said view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 shows a further detail of the brakeoperatlng mechanism, the View being taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 shows a detail of the switch mechaa nism to be controlled by the motion of a train passing the crossing; view being taken on line 5-5 of Figure 7 Figure 6 shows a detail of the switch mechanism in cross-section, taken substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure '7 is a cross-sectional view of the switch mechanism taken substantially on line 'i-i of may be sound waves, or some form of radiant energy, such as light or radio waves, these latter being employed in the illustrated embodiment of my invention, in which the signaling station is indicated in general by the letter A, as will be seen from Figure 1. A motor car or other vehicle fitted with my invention will carry a receiving station for the reception of the radiant energy given oir by the signalling system A, which, as already stated, in the specific embodiment illustrated, consists of radio waves, and this receiving station is designated generally by the letter B, and shown as applied to motor cars in Figure 1, and in detail in Figure 2.

Referring particularly to'Figure 1, the numerals H and I2 show a system of tracks at the same level as and crossing a highway l3, this arrangement being customarily known as a grade crossing. While I have shown a double track system, it is to be understood that I may apply my invention to a single track system or to a system of more than two tracks. Trains on track I I will ordinarily move in the direction shown by the arrows l4, and trains on track I2 will ordinarily move in the direction of arrows I5. A

signaling station 20, capable of emitting trains of radio waves is located at one side of the railroad crossing and a similar station 2| is located on the other side of the crossing. In order to pre vent the signaling and controlling effects of these tfli9l$ on vehicles located at too great a disor stationary thereon, said tance from them, their energy output is restricted to such an extent that their effectiveness is limited to a comparatively short distance from the stations. By way of suggestion, I may mention a distance of five hundred feet as a practical figure.

These and all similar signaling stations'located at other crossings will preferably be operated to f emit radio waves at a selected predetermined frequency or wave length which is the same as that to which the receiving apparatus on the motor car or other'vehicle is attuned, so that the car will receive signals, when approaching all crossings so equipped, without the necessity of special tuning by the driver.

By having two stations instead of a single central one, economy of operation may be effected by utilizing directional control of the radio waves in such a manner that the waves are directed down the roadtoward approaching vehicles, and a further advantage of two stations, one on each side of the track, is that the signals cannot possibly be interrupted by passing trains, but it will be understood that a single station centrally or otherwise located or more than two stations, may be used, and with or without directional control of the radiations, wherever found Y desirable. These radio stations may be operated from the power line 22, controlled by electrical switch mechanisms 25, 26, 21 and 28, each designed to operate when a train passes by it in eitherdirection. i

. The switches 25 and 26 are arranged to operate in conjunction with two parallel conductors 30 and 3| in such a manner that when a train on track II is approaching the crossing, it will, on

coming opposite the switch 25, throw the same so as to cause operation of the radio stations 20 and 2|. Similarly, switches 21 and 28 are arranged to operate in conjunction with parallel conductors 40 and 4|. On referring to Figure 1, it will be noted that radio stations 20 and 2| are connected to power line 22 in parallel, but that the conductors 38, 3|, 45 and 4|, in conjunction with switches 25, 26, 21 and 28 form a network of parallel connectors bridging a gap between one of the wires 35 of the power line and the conductors 36, 31 branching ofl to the radio stations 20 and 2| respectively. To effect operation of these stations, it is therefore necessary to establish an electrical path through this network of parallel conductors, and this will be efiected if switches 25 and 26 introduce either conductor 30 or 3| into the circuit, or if the switches 21 and 28 act similarly on either one of conductors 40 and 4|.

Without going into the details of the construction of switches 25, 26,-21 and 28, as this will be described later, it will sufiice for the present to state that the switch 25 is constructed so that it will always make contact either with one or the other of the parallel conductors 30 and 3|, and the same is true of switch 26, which may be of a construction identical with that of 25 and is further so related to the same thatpas long as no train is located between switches 25 and 25, these switches are connected each to a diiferent with the other conductor 30. The result is that switch 25 will now be in the dotted line position of Figure l, and switch 26 in the full line position, so that current may pass from conductor 35,

through switches 26 and 25, and conductor 38 into the radio signaling stations 28 and 2|, it being remembered that the other side of the power circuit 22 has at all times an uninterrupted connection with these stations. I

As the train proceeds toward switch 26, there is no change in the electrical connections, but as it passes the switch 26, the same is thrown into the dotted line position of Figure l, and the power line connection is again broken, so that the signaling stations become silent.- The same result would, of course, be attained if the train, after throwing switch 25, stops, and instead of continuing toward switch 26, backs away from same, and again passes switch 25. In this case, switch 25 would be thrown back into the full line position of Figure l. v

If a' trainon track approaches from the left of Figure l and passes'switch 26, it is obvious that this would establish the power connection, in fact, it will be clear that no matter what the direction of approach of'a train, it will cause operation of the stations 2|! and 2| as soon as it enters the section of track located between switches 25 and 26. 4

The'operation of switches 21 and 28 in relation to track i2 is identical with the above-described operation of switches 25 and 26'in relation to track II, and since these two systems of circuits are in, parallel, they effect the desired'condition of operativeness of the radio stations 20 and 2| as long as there is a train within the danger zone adjacent the crossing, and non-operativeness of the stations when there is no train in the zone.

I will next describe the receiving station B, car

ried individually by each motor car or other road vehicle, which will be found illustrated in Figure 2. In this figure, D represents a radio-receiving set embodying an antenna 50, and the receiver 5|, tuned to receive signals from stations 2|! and 2|, which receiving set is furnished with suitable electric batteries 52 and 53 as needed for its operation. It willbe understood that this set may be of any type which will furnish sufiicient powerto operate the relays necessary for actuating and controlling the several alternative systems of. control described in connection with my invention, and for this purpose may be provided with such power amplifying adjuncts as may be needed.

The controls on the motor vehicle provided in connection with the signals received from radio stations at the crossing are, first of all a visible conductor, so that there is here a break in the system designated by E an automatic com line 35, which must be bridged before current can pass to the radio stations 20 and 2|. Switches 21 and 28 are similarly constructed and relatively adjusted, so that, unless a train is located between the sections of tracks II and I2 bounded by stations 25, 26, 21 and 28, the radio stations trol for the ignition designated collectively by H, an automatic control for the braking system designated collectively by G, and the customary footoperated braking system designated collectively by F. Power for operating the various devices E, H, and G, is provided by the storage battery 55,

such as is ordinarily carried by motor cars for furnishing the power necessary for starting the motor and for ignition, making due allowance for any additional power needed. Conductors 68 and 6| transmit the feeble current from radio receiver D to .a relay 82, which forms part of the visible signaling system E. The relay closes the storage battery circuit, comprising suitable conductors 82', 88 and 64, and the signaling lamp 85, which may be any type of incandescent lamp suitable for storage battery operation. The effect of the reception of signals from stations 28 and II is therefore to operate the relay 62, so that by means of the connections described the signal lamp 65 is operatively connected to the storage battery, whereby the driver of the motor car or other vehicle is visually apprised of the vicinity of the radio stations and of the grade crossing. As soon as the sending stations cease their operation, the current in conductors 68 and 8| is also discontinued, and the relay automatically opens the sig: nal lamp circuit.

Conductors 18 and II branching oil from the above-mentioned conductors 68 and 6|, conduct the weak current from the receiving set into a retarded or time relay I2, the retarding action of which may be effected by a dash pot arrangement II, which, as disclosed in Figure 2, operates to control both the ignition system F, and the automatic brake control system G, by the double switch member 13. While I have shown a single relay for this purpose, it is also possible to use separate retarded or time relays, one'for the ig= nition system H, and the other for the brake control system G, and if two relays are provided, different periods of retardation may be used for these two systems, and further, if desired, one may then be disconnected, while the other is left in operation, or both may be operated simultaneously. The dashpot H is shown in Figure 2 as of the adjustable type in which an adjustable valve interposes more or less resistance to the flow of fluid from one side of the piston of the dashpot'to the other, and by suitable setting of this valve the period of retardation effected by the dashpot may be predeterminedly controlled. The relay I2 is preferably set to retard its operation for a short time, say, for instance, ten seconds. If separate relays are used for the ignition and the brake control systems, different periods of retardation may be assigned to each. For example, the ignition may be made operative after a delay of ten seconds, and the brake control system after a delay of fifteen seconds, the advantage of this being, of course, that less power will be needed to operate the brakes since the efiect of throwing off the ignition first will be to cause the motor itself to act as a brake. The relay I2 and the switches it operates are constructed so that when the relay circuit is no longer energized, the relay and the switches will return to their normal position. This may be effected in any suitable or preferred manner, such as by springs as shown in connection with relay 62 but has been omitted from the drawings for the sake of clearness.

Figure 9 shows the circuits for a system in which the ignition and the brake are separately controlled. For controlling the ignition, a relay 'IZ-A, energized from the line 68, 6|, the action of which is retarded by the adjustable dash-pot arrangement ll-A, to control the action of switch I35-A, is used. Similarly for the brake circuit a relay 'I2B with dash-pot Id-B controls switch I25-B. It is to be understood that the construction of relays l2-A and 12-3 and their associated parts is similar to that of relay I2 and its associated parts.

Omitting for the present the operations of the ignition system H, and the brake-control system G, the foot-brake control mechanism F will next be described. This may consist, as customary, of a brake drum I6, adjunctive to the wheels of the vehicle, and brake shoes 16 and I1 pivoted at I8 and spread by a cam 18, actuated by a brake rod 88. A brake pedal 83 attached to brake lever 84 when the operator steps on pedal 83 the brake rod 88 will move forward, carrying with it the collar 88, and the latter may move forward without disturbing the position of sliding collar 88. 26

On the other hand, if collar 89 moves forward,

-or to the right as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, it will, owing to its contact with fixed collar 88, push the brake rod 88 to the right and so lock the brakes, while at the same time it is free to return to the unlocked position, as shown in Figure 2, in full lines, without having any eifect on the brake pedal.

Proceeding with the description of the automatic brake operating system G, and calling attention to Figures 2, 3, and 4, rack 95 is engaged by a toothed pinion 86, carried loosely on wormwheel shaft 91, which is journalled in suitable bearings I88 and I DI, and carries in fixed relation thereto the worm-wheel I82. engaged by a worm I83 carried on an extension of the shaft of a. motor I85. Slidably keyed to the shaft 91 is a clutch member Hi6, which may be actuated to cause contact between clutch teeth I87 formed on I86 and clutch teeth I88 carried by 45 an extension of the hub of pinion 88. The clutch member I86 is actuated from the brake pedal for this purpose by a system of levers, such as lever II8, engaging a groove III in clutch member I88 and pivoted at H5, and operated by bellcrank lever II8, motivated through link II! from an extension II8 of the brake lever 84.

The mechanism so far described operates in the following manner: As long as the brake pedal is in the upper or off position, the clutch teeth I81 and I88 will bein engagement and consequently, if power is applied to the motor I85, the same will actuate the worm I83 and through it the system comprising the worm-wheel, pinion and toothed rack 95, so that, by continued operation of the motor the rack 95 will be caused to move to the left in Figure 2, as indicated by the dotted line, and the collar 89 will move forward, thus actuating the brake rod and the brake shoes and stopping the vehicle. Owing to the fact that the worm I83 and worm-wheel I82, because of the peculiarities of their construction, cannot be run in the reverse direction by pressure applied on rack 95, the system will be locked against backward movement, even though the power be removed from the motor I85.

If, however, the operator steps on the pedal 83, he will effect a disengagement of clutch teeth I81 and I88, which has the effect of disconnecting the worm I82 from the rack 95, thereby destroy- 75 The latter is 40 speed of return of rack 95 is moderated by a dashpot arrangement I2I by which too violent action will be avoided. The motor I05 is operated from the storage battery 55 through conductors I23, I24 branching off, as shown, from conductors 83 and 64. One of them, as conductor I23 may, for the purpose of stopping motor I05 be interrupted at two places, by .contact making and breaking devices, the first of these being a switch I25 contact I25 cooperating with switch member 13, operated by the relay 12, and the second being the springcontacts I26 and I21, contact between which is interrupted by the passage between them, when the rack 95 has reached the braking position, of a wedge I28 of insulating material carried by the rack. When the, rack reaches this position, the motor power is no longer needed and is, in fact, undesirable.

The operation of the automatic brake control system'G will now be described. When energy is received from the stations and 2I, the feeble current induced in the radio receiver is transmitted to retarded relay [2 previously mentioned. The operation of the relay closes the switch I a given interval of time after the relay is energized, which interval may be ten seconds, as previously suggested by way of example. Closing of the switch will have the effect of starting the motor I05 which will actuate rack 95 and cause it to move into the dotted line'position of -Figure 2, until the motor circuit is interrupted by the spreading of contacts I25 and I21. When that happens the motor stops, but this does not occur before the brakes .are locked. The brakes will stay locked until the operator steps on the pedal 83 and by the action already described, re-

leases the rack 95.

It will further be noted that if the operator should step on the pedal 83, before the automatic control begins to act, in other words, if the operator intentionally throws on the brakes, the efiect will be to prevent the operation of the automatic control because the motive power is disconnected from rack 95 owing to breaking of the operative v connection between clutch teeth I01 and I08.

There remains to be described, among other things, the ignition system H and its control. The ignition system is operated, as customary,

from the storage battery 55. For this purpose,

conductors I30 and BI branch off from conductors 63 and 64 and the complete circuit embodies a manually operated switch I32, as customarily provided in ignition circuits, and a device or set of devices collectively indicated at I33,'for

properly timing the ignition impulses and distributing them to the different spark plugs, and providing the proper electrical tension. A system of spark plugs indicated at I34 is energized from I33 in the customary manner.

The automatic feature of the ignition system H consists of a contact I35, cooperating with switch member 13, whereby the ignition circuit is automatically opened on the operation of the retarded or time relay 12, but as previously described, if found desirable, a separate relay may be used for this purpose and the period of retardation in its action may be different from the retarded action of the brake control system.

Referring now to Figures 5, 6, '7 and 8, these nism 25, and the actuating means for same carried by a train in the form which has been selected for illustration. It will be understood that the switches 25, 26, 21 and 28 would usually be and in the specific disclosure are intended to be,

all of the same construction. 5

For operating these switches, I may provide a lever I4I carried by one of the cars I40 of a train and-adapted to engage in notches I42 of a cam wheel I48, mounted on a shaft I44, journalled in casing I46 of switch 25, which casing 10 is preferably weather-proof, for obivous reasons. Carried on this shaft in spaced relation are two contact or controller drums I50 and I5I, insulated from shaft I 44 by insulating bushings I52,

and the cylindrical surface of each of these drums 15 is divided into four equal portions by two insulating segments I53, carried on opposite sides thereof. The body of each drum I50 or I5I is made of conducting material, so that when brushes I55 and I56 located on opposite sides of 0 drum I50, and suitably insulated from the framework, are in contact with the insulating segments I53, current cannot pass through the drum, but when the brushes are in engagement with the intermediate or conducting portions of the drum, 5 electrical connection is established between the two brushes. Similarly, the brushes I51 and I58, also suitably insulated from the frame, make contact with drum I5I.

It will be noted that passage of a train in 30 either direction will cause cam wheel I43 and the attached contact drums to move through a quarter revolution, whereby each contact drum alternately makes and breaks the electrical connection between the pair of brushes associated with it. To avoid accidental displacement of the wheel I43 from relative position with respect to the other switches, which of course, is necessary for the proper operation of the system, a ratchet arrangement may be provided in connection therewith which will prevent its turning on the application of ordinary accidental or other undesired impacts, but will not resist its motion on the passage of a train.

- It will further be noted that drum I5I is dis- ,5

placed, as regards the position of the insulating and conducting portions of its surface, by a quarter revolution with relation to drum I50, so that when the brushes on I5I are on the insulating segments, the brushes on I will be on 50 the conducting portions. The brushes I51 and I on one side of the cam wheels I50 and I5I are connected in multiple to conductor 35 and the opposite pair of brushes I51 and I58 are separately connected respectively to conductors 30 55 and 3I. From this description, it will be clear that the system of contact drums described establishes contact between conductor 35 and either conductor 30 or 3|, but never with both together, and each passage of a train in either direction 60 shifts the connection from one of the conductors 30 or 3| to the other.

It will now be seen that when a road vehicle such as a motor car approaches the grade crossing from any direction, and no dangerous con- (35 dition, such as the presence of a train on that portion of the track system adjacent the crossing and limited by the location of the system of switches, exists, he will receive no signal of any kind, nor will his vehicle be controlled in any way and he will therefore be free to cross the tracks. As soon, however, as a train enters within the above defined zone, or if a train should be located within the above zone while the vehicle is approaching, and as soon as the vehicle enters 7 aoaaioe the region within which the radio emanations become effective on the radio receiving means carried by the car, the driver will be warned by the signal lamp 65 that it is time for him to stop. If he disregards this signal and proceeds nevertheless, an automatic action takes place which results in thowing oif the ignition and simultaneously throwing in the brakes. In the alternative form described, the ignition is thrown off first and the brakes subsequently. This delayed action between the operation of the signal and the cutting off of the ignition and throwing in of the brakes is efiected by the retarded or timed relay 12 as previously described. When the dangerous condition has ceased to exist, the radio signaling stations no longer function, and the result of this is that the relays operating the signaling system and the ignition and braking mechanisms return to their original inactive position. The signal therefore ceases to operate, and the ignition system is again energized. The braking system, however, will stay locked on account of the locking action of the wormwheel system I02 and I03. In order to release the brakes, it is necessary for the driver to step on the brake pedal 83, whereby the worm and worm-wheel are thrown out of the system of brake control, and after the brake pedal is again released, the brake control mechanism returns to its original position, again ready for automatic operation. Owing to the retraction of the insulated wedge I28 when rack 95 moves to its initial position, the spring contacts I26 and I2! again come together, and permit the motor I05 to operate, when this is made possible by the action of the relay I2.

It will be noted that foot operation of the brakes is at all times possible quite independently of the automatic brake control.

It will be understood that I do not limit myself to the exact details of the various mechanisms illustrated, as these are shown only by way of illustration, and are capable of modification in a great variety of ways to suit particular conditions such as will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. For example, while I have shown the switch 255 as operated by a special contact lever located on the train, switches or other mechanisms not operated by such contact levers may be used. By way of example, means operated by the pressure of the wheels of the 5 train on the track or on means associated with the track, may be substituted without in any way changing the operation of my system.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with the foot brake mechanism of a motor vehicle, comprising a foot pedal operating the brake mechanism through a brake rod, and means adapted to release the brakes when the foot pedal is released, an automatic braking system operative in response to predetermined danger conditions external to the vehicle, a member slidable on said brake rod, stop means on said rod to limit the motion of said slidable member in one direction but not in the other, whereby actuationof said slidable member may serve to set the brakes but not to release them, motor means, power transmission means acting through a clutch to transmit motive power 5 from said motor means to said slidable member so as to actuate the same to set the brakes, means for operating said clutch so as to interrupt the transmission of power from said motor means to said slidable member, said means being in operative relation to the foot-pedal so as to perform its power-interrupting function when the pedal is operated to set the brakes. and means operative in response to predetermined power conditions external to the vehicle to cause said motive means to become operative.

2. In mechanism as defined in claim 1, means to interrupt the operation of said motive means when said slidable member has caused a setting of the brakes.

3. In mechanism as defined in claim 1, means to cause said slidable member automatically to assume an inoperative position in relation to brake setting.

JEROME I-IIRSHFELD. 

